Star of the Week

In November Wesley was "Star of the Week" in his class.
This meant he got to take a favorite toy to school to show his classmates. He took his platypus. He also took in a picture of his family and a picture of the family pets. He so enjoyed talking about our cats that the teacher "couldn't get him to stop talking" until she threatened to take Star of the Week away from him. He LOVED being the center of attention.

He also got to put a toy in The 20 Question bag. He put his green snake in the bag. He said his classmates were unable to figure out what was in the bag.

As I thought about Wesley being Star of the Week at school, I remembered a Bible verse that had been a MOPS theme one year. I memorized this verse because I needed the reminder to not complain about stuff. As I thought about Wesley and how much he enjoyed being the center of attention, I was reminded to pray that one day people will see the light of Jesus in him.

Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe as you hold on to the word of life. Philipians 2:14-16

Nothing Like Some Extra Sugar to Keep the Craziness Going

Michele took this photo-documentary at the Baby Jesus' Birthday Party.

Wesley and Evan were running around the perimeter of the room at the end of the party.
Michele said Wesley looked around the room for me...
When he saw that I wasn't looking at him, he took a swipe of the icing. (He had already had a piece of cake.)

When I looked in his direction, he and Evan dove under the table.

My Little Drummer Boy

Last week I went with Wesley's class to see a Tiny Tots Concert at a local high school. He was lucky enough to get to go on stage and play the drums before the concert started.

Of course, riding the bus is always exciting for preschoolers.

Wesley also got to play the xylophone.

I think Wesley's favorite character was Rudolf. We also saw Mickey Mouse and lots of other Disney characters.

Happy Birthday Jesus!

Today we had a Baby Jesus' Birthday Party with MOPS. The kids did beaded necklaces and learned the meaning of the candy cane. ( A great book about this is J is for Jesus: The Sweetest Story Ever Told.) They also decorated foam Christmas trees and learned the meaning behind the different colors of Christmas.
The kids also did nativity scenes with stickers.

This is the best group shot I got today. I counted 30 moms but I couldn't count all the kids. We had a great turnout for the party.

Monica prayed with the kids before telling them the Christmas story. It was so sweet to see all the kids with their heads bowed.

Monica did a great job telling the kids about Jesus. She used a felt board which helped keep their attention.

We sang a couple of songs and then it was time to sing Happy Birthday and eat cake.

Here the kids and I are finishing our packed lunch. My friend couldn't get either one of them to look at her and smile nicely at the same time (and this was before they had cake).

Lydia is holding Cubbie Bear in the above picture. Both kids are so excited that they got to take him to the party.

A Snowy Day at Ticonderoga Farms

Today we had a MOPS event at Ticonderoga Farms. It was raining very hard when we left our house but when we got on 66, it started snowing! It was beautiful at the tree farm.
Meredith and her family and a few other families braved the weather this morning.

The kids had fun playing. Wesley and Lydia had on snow boots, snow bibs, and their heavy coats.

There was a neat Noah's Arc playground, tee pees (that provided great shelter from the snow), and fire pit. The fire wasn't blazing but it did provide some warmth and now we all smell like campfire. When we first got there, Wesley asked Chris "Is someone camping?"

There were also farm animals - goats, sheep, chickens, and a horse. In better weather you can buy food to feed them.

Santa was inside a heated barn. Wesley told Santa that he wants a remote control airplane. We know it is going to get harder to just ignore Santa as the kids get older. Normally they just get their picture taken with him (like they do with Mickey Mouse) but this time Santa asked what they wanted for Christmas. Later, we did tell Wesley that all the presents will be from Mommy and Daddy and other family members.

The kids quickly wanted to go back outside to play more in the snow.

Wesley and Lydia really liked the big slides. I didn't get a better picture of the slides because my hands were very wet and cold every time I took pictures and I was beginning to worry about how wet my camera was getting.

I was disappointed when we got home and there wasn't as much snow in our neighborhood. Chris asked me, "What did you expect?" Well, I was hoping that somehow we had gotten just as much as they got in the western suburbs. The grass isn’t even fully covered.

A Couple of New Thanksgiving Traditions?

So, maybe next year we will try to find an open tourist attraction to get us all out of the house for a few hours. We all enjoyed going to see ICE! this year.

Maybe I will also make homemade bread again. This year I made Middle-Class Brioche. I blogged about it on Half-Baked Beauties.

Last year we had a Paula Deen Thanksgiving. This year we had her pumpkin cheesecake (which is one of my favorite desserts) but the rest of the meal was from Rachel Ray.

Herb Roasted Turkey Breast with Pan Gravy- the turkey breast was delicious, the gravy was okay.

Apple and Onion Stuffin' Muffins - my muffins fell apart, but the stuffin' was tasty.

Autumn Potato Gratin - yummy!

My mom's Sweet Potato Dish - probably the best thing on the table!

So, maybe next year we will try another the celebrity chef's Thanksgiving recipes. Perhaps Ina Garten.

Chris and his mom both helped me cook.

In the past we haven't had an after dinner tradition, but maybe we have found one.

On Friday morning, Dianna and I got up early and headed out to the mall. We got there about 6:15 and we got a great parking space because people were leaving. The mall opened at midnight! One sales clerk told me they were very busy from midnight until two and then it picked up again around five.

I don't think I will be going at midnight but I do hope to continue the tradition of going to the mall early on Black Friday.

When it is 50 Degrees Outside...

Who wouldn't want to go inside where it is nine degrees?

On Thanksgiving we headed over to the National Harbor to see ICE! at the Gaylord. Chris, Wesley, and I had seen it at the Gaylord Texan three years ago with Nancy and Ainsley.

They give everyone parkas to wear because it is only nine degrees in the exhibit! We put the parkas on over top of our regular jackets. Lydia had on the smallest sized parka and she could barely walk in it but it kept her warm. At one point she asked me to fix her gloves but I couldn't get to them.

Lydia kept asking me to wipe her nose. A couple of times, she actually said, "There is something in my nose. Get it out!" She was a like the little boy in The Christmas Story; she couldn't move her arms well enough to wipe her nose.I must say the people who were working there on Thanksgiving were so incredibly nice and friendly. I wish everyone in the DC area was like that.

Here we are on the sleigh made of ice.

The first room had some ice sculptures of DC landmarks.

Dianna was really cold.

Lydia went slowly down one of the ice slide.

Wesley went a lot faster.

Everything was made of ice. Here you can see walls of ice and an ice arch.

Here we are with the Santa made out of ice.

Wesley and the ice bear.

This angel was very beautiful.

When we saw ICE in Texas three years ago we wondered, "If they did this in DC area would they include the Nativity Scene?" Thankfully, they did!

I was also pleased to see this. I saw it quickly before heading to the exit. My feet were very cold by the time we got to the end. It felt so warm in the area where we returned our parkas. They also had plenty of tissues.

Next we headed over to the actual Gaylord and had some hot chocolate. Well, the kids had slightly lukewarm chocolate.

Wayne snapped this photo of Wesley inside the Gaylord.

The glass tree is very pretty.
The kids love the fountains. Thankfully, they didn't get wet.

I thought this little bear was pretty cute.

So, if you are visiting the DC area this holiday season or if you live here and/or you are hosting family and friends, you might want to check out ICE! We all thought it was pretty neat. And yes, I think the kids really enjoyed it also. Of course, there is a lot more to see than posted here.